Probiotics no help for stomach flu
Probiotics are a multibillion-dollar international industry, but new research last week showed they don’t help children recover from stomach flu any better than placebos.
The results of two randomised clinical trials — which came to the same conclusions — were published in the New England Journal Of Medicine.
“Probiotics had no effect on the children,” said co-author Phillip Tarr, a professor of paediatrics at Washington University in St Louis, adding that the findings were “not ambiguous”.
“Parents are better off saving their money and using it to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables for their children.”
Probiotics are surging in popularity, with the global market predicted to expand from US$37 billion in 2015 to $64 billion by 2023, according to the report.
Five of 12 leading medical groups worldwide currently endorse their use, as a way to promote gut health by restoring intestinal flora, building up so-called “good bacteria” in children’s bodies.
Those recommending probiotics include the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
For one study in the United States, researchers tested a popular brand of probiotic, sold under the name Culturelle.
A total of 971 children between three months and four years old were enrolled in the study.
All had sought emergency-room care for gastroenteritis, an intestinal condition that can be caused by a virus or a bacterial infection — with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhoea.
The children were randomly assigned to either receive a five-day course of a placebo or Culturelle, which contains the bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.
A pack of 30, promoted as a “No.1 paediatrician-recommended daily probiotic”, costs around $20 (660 baht).
But researchers found that kids who took the probiotic showed no difference in length of illness or severity of symptoms, compared to kids given a sugar pill.